Domineering Daming

Rumors spread all over the sky and flooded the capital.

Soon someone wrote a letter requesting a retrial of the "inner court bribery case", and even impeached Fu Changzong directly, demanding that he be removed from prison.

No one expected that someone would be able to link Yang Lian and others with Fu Changzong, and some decent evidence would be produced, causing the city to be full of storms, and everyone was caught off guard.

Half an hour, cabinet.

Two secondary assistants, six ministers, Zhu Luhu, Zhengjing Wang of the Supervisory Council, Wu Chunfu, Dali Temple Minister, and others were all called over, which was regarded as an enlarged meeting.

In the lobby, the quiet needle drop could be heard, and everyone looked solemn and depressed at the same time.

The so-called frightening words, verbal and written criticism, seem to be most vivid at this time.If it came true, Fu Changzong's position would be unstable.

Bi Ziyan looked at Fu Changzong, and saw that he was sitting upright, as before, calm as usual, without any tension or panic.

He frowned, turned to Zhang Wenda and said, "What does the Ministry of Punishment want to say?"

The case of Yang Lian and others was the focus of Zhang Wenda's investigation not long ago. He was very clear about the things in it, but he never knew that there was also the shadow of Huitong Trading Company.

He glanced at Fu Changzong, and said: "The Ministry of Criminal Justice has already conducted an urgent investigation. A sum of money from Huitong Commercial Bank appeared in Wei Zhongxian's account books. In addition, there were testimonies, so the witnesses and physical evidence are beyond doubt."

As soon as Zhang Wenda finished speaking, Shen Xun, Xu Dahua, and even Zhou Yingqiu all looked at Fu Changzong with flickering eyes. If it was true, even the emperor would not be able to protect him.

Bi Ziyan was silent for a while, and Huitong Trading Co., Ltd. got involved, and when he thought about Xiong Tingbi's release from prison, he immediately knew what was going on. It was nothing more than the emperor who was still King Hui at that time used some means to rescue Xiong Tingbi.

Although there is nothing to criticize in this matter itself, it is disgraceful after all, and it is not easy to say it on the stage.

At the same time, Bi Ziyan also realized that this is a hot potato, with all the witnesses and material evidence, how should we deal with it?

The most tormenting person is Wu Chunfu. He didn't have the courage to surrender to Zhu Xu. He desperately hoped that the cabinet would take the initiative to ask him to retry the case of Yang Lian and others. , at the same time disregarding oneself.

On the contrary, the others were more worried that if Fu Changzong fell, it would not be a small matter, it would set off a huge chain reaction, and they might not be able to survive alone!

"Master Fu, do you have anything to say?" Bi Ziyan raised his head and looked at Fu Changzong.He was preparing to sort out the court situation, and the emperor had more plans, and he would not want Fu Changzong to fall suddenly, or under the circumstances of being calculated!

Fu Changzong looked calm and calm, took a look at Bi Ziyan, looked around again, and said lightly: "Huitong Commercial Bank was managed by children a few years ago, but don't forget that Wei Zhongxian's nephew Wei Liangqing is also inside, whether it is me or There is no need for children to send money to Wei Zhongxian, and at any time, the Fu family has very little contact with Xiong Tingbi, and has no contact with Yang Dahong and others. As for the witness, a remnant of the eunuch, how can he be trusted?"

In fact, everyone here knows in their hearts that the emperor is behind this incident, and there is nothing wrong with it in itself. Rescuing Xiong Tingbi was the common wish of the government and the public at that time, and it is right now.

It's just that the method is a bit taboo-"bribing the inner court".

When Fu Changzong was talking nonsense in public, everyone was stunned for a moment, and then the corners of their mouths moved slightly.

In a word, four or two moves a thousand catties.

This is indeed a good excuse, and it is so seamless that no one can say anything.Everyone here needs such an excuse, and no one will expose it, otherwise everyone will be embarrassed and difficult to do.

Bi Ziyan looked calm, heaved a sigh of relief in his heart, turned to Zhang Wenda and said, "The Ministry of Criminal Justice must close the case as soon as possible, settle this matter, and at the same time refute the rumors and crack down on the rumor makers!"

Zhang Wenda glanced at Fu Changzong, with a calm face, and said after a while: "This group of people is extremely cunning, and the Ministry of Criminal Justice will stop halfway through the investigation several times. They are not ordinary people. I am afraid that it will be difficult to make progress for a while."

Bi Ziyan frowned, and said, "Do you know who it is?"

The wind and rain in the capital started before the emperor returned to the capital. At the beginning, they thought it was the remnants of Donglin, but now it seems that it is not the means that the people of Donglin should have, or in other words, it is not what they can do.

Zhang Wenda pondered for a while, and said: "I don't know, they are unusually sneaky, they seem to be very familiar with the criminal department's handling of cases, and their actions are ahead of us. If there is a little clue, they will be snuffed out, and they can't be traced."

Everyone murmured in their hearts. Although the Donglin Party is a taboo word in the capital, it is not so taboo in the cabinet.

There are many illegal facts in the Donglin Party, but emotionally, they are still very sympathetic, and they are unwilling to kill them all.

But at this level, Bi Ziyan's tolerance was exceeded. He turned his head to look at Sun Chengzong, and said, "Mr. Sun Ge, how about letting Jianxie intervene?"

Although Jianxie Division has been established for a long time, it is extremely low-key, and has no sense of presence in the court so far.

Sun Chengzong didn't like such an organization to suppress the officials, he shook his head slightly and said: "If the evil commander moves, the emperor will react, let's hand it over to the Ministry of Punishment, use all means to find out the people behind the scenes, and calm down the capital as soon as possible chaos, in preparation for the Great Court."

"I will obey your orders," Zhang Wenda said.

Even though this matter is over, when Bi Ziyan was about to speak, Wu Chunfu hurriedly continued: "Master Bi Ge, Mr. Sun Ge, my lords, I suggest that the case of Yang Dahong and others be tried again to clarify and clear away the rumors! "

The status of Dali Temple is very low, not comparable to the Six Departments, nor to the Governor's Council. The rank of Dali Temple's ministers is from the third rank, which is the same as the governors outside Beijing, but how can they compare with the officials of the frontiers? Real power and prestige! ?

Everyone was startled, Wu Chunfu's sense of presence was quite low, it seemed that it was the first time he spoke.

Bi Ziyan and Sun Chengzong looked at each other, pondered for a while, and said: "It's okay, the Ministry of Punishment must investigate in detail this time, there should be no mistakes, and don't give any chance to rumors!"

"I obey orders!" Wu Chunfu and Zhang Wenda said almost at the same time.

Zhang Wenda didn't care, he had done it a long time ago, and it was nothing more than a incidental clarification for Fu Changzong.But Mrs. Wu Chun is different. He is calm on the face and ecstatic in his heart. As long as he finds a scapegoat to try the case, he excuses himself to go out of Beijing, and when Yang Lian is "acquitted" and he comes back, everything will be left clean. !

While the cabinet was discussing, Zhu Xu was studying the "military reform" in the imperial study.

The current army size of the Ming Dynasty is too large, and it needs to be streamlined, take the route of elite soldiers, keep the army strong through continuous rotation, and at the same time, more soldiers can be quickly called up when necessary.

Now the provinces of Daming have expanded to more than 20. The militias commanded by the governor, that is, provincial soldiers, government soldiers, county soldiers, plus the regular garrison of the imperial court, and other cavalry, artillery, spearmen, arrow artillery, all kinds of soldiers, more than 400 million, which caused a great burden on the court's finances.

At the same time, the territory of the Ming Dynasty expanded unprecedentedly, and more soldiers were needed to guard it. Land, sea, and desert areas were so complicated that even Zhu Xu had to check them carefully to see clearly.For a country with such a vast territory, if it wants to take the route of elite soldiers, it will undoubtedly have to be carefully considered and cautious, and it must not be careless.

Standing in front of the table, Zhu Xu drew circles on the map, wrote a name, a number, and outlined the region. He was busy for more than an hour, and his brows were never loosened.

After an unknown amount of time, Liu Shimin brought a cup of tea.

Zhu Xu glanced at him subconsciously, and then took the teacup, still staring at the messy map in his hand, took a sip of tea, and said after a while: "What's wrong?"

"Someone spread rumors about Fu Shangshu outside the palace, Mr. Bi Ge has already dealt with it, Wu Chunfu proposed to retrial the 'inner court bribery case', and the cabinet has already approved it." Liu Shimin said succinctly.

Zhu Xu remained expressionless, put down his teacup, and said, "The cabinet probably thinks Mrs. Wu Chun will listen to them... This time it was a mistake."

Liu Shimin nodded silently. If he really wanted to let the cabinet do what he wanted, Yang Lian would have to be released.That would be troublesome, the entire Donglin case would be questioned, and it was already at a disadvantage in public opinion, so it might damage Tianwei and shake the "New Deal"!

Zhu Xu twirled the charcoal pencil in his hand, and said, "When is the trial scheduled for Dali Temple?"

Liu Shimin said: "It hasn't been decided yet. According to the current situation, the trial may start today."

Zhu Xu said "Yes", now that Fu Changzong is involved, Wu Chunfu has enough reasons to retrial as soon as possible, and the trial will be concluded as soon as possible, so as to clear up Fu Changzong's grievances.

Liu Shimin waited for a while, but Zhu Xu did not speak, and said, "Your Majesty, do you want to make some arrangements?"

Zhu Xu waved his hand and said, "It's all left over from my playing, no need, it is said that Wang Qiao will see me in the coming years."

Wang Qiaonian is the vice president of the Royal Political Council, and the principal is Bi Ziyan, but Bi Ziyan is only in name, and Wang Qiaonian has always been in charge of the Royal Political Council.

Liu Shimin didn't understand, so he bowed and said, "Observe the order."

Wang Qiaonian came out of the Royal Political Council in a hurry, wondering why the emperor had summoned him suddenly.He thought about it along the way, and it could only be the conflict between the graduates of the Political Academy and those officials who were Jinshi.

This contradiction is difficult to resolve. The crux of the problem is that these students are not from the imperial examinations, are not regular, or even wild, but are forced by the emperor through the officials. Breaking through this limit will lead to a huge rebound.